Bela Lugosi's Dead
by MeenColleen
Summary: After spending some needed downtime at Bobby's house, Sam and Dean take an 'Easy' Vampire case in Seattle to get back in the Hunting game. They befriend another traveler who seems to be investigating Sam and Dean. Her presence and secrets become more troubling then the Vampires' they came to hunt. Mature language and themes.
1. Chapter 1

'Hey Sam, check this out.' Dean called happily to his brother from Bobby's living room.  
'What is it?' Sam yelled back from the kitchen. He was trying to put a dent in some of the dishes they had used over the past few days.  
'You ever see this show, it's about nine girls who live in a fancy house together. They run around drunk and half naked all day.' Dean laughed. 'I'm telling you, it may be the best thing I've ever seen.' Dean smiled. He put his feet up on the coffee table and took a big swig of beer. He stuck his hand in a jar of peanuts.  
'I'm sorry to say, I haven't had the pleasure of watching that particular show.' Sam called back to him. He smiled to himself happy to hear Dean enjoying himself even if it was while watching trash TV.  
'Well, come on in here. You're missing it.' Dean replied.  
'I'll catch the next one.' Sam shook his head. Sam and Dean had been at Bobby's house for about 6 days. It had been the break they both needed. After all they went through in the past few months they knew if they didn't take some time off they'd suffer for it. Bobby was happy to have them staying at his house. Since his wife died almost ten years ago Bobby lived alone. His house was right in the middle of a huge scrap yard he owned. Corpses of old cars littered every square foot of yard for miles in every direction.  
'Hey Bobby!' Dean called to the den where Bobby was sitting at his desk. 'You got to get in here. You don't want to miss this.'  
'I think I'll pass Dean.' Bobby yelled back to him. He smirked to himself as he nursed a glass of scotch.  
'You guys are no fun.' Dean shook his head. He took a sip of his beer bottle and leaned in closer to the television set. 'Whoa!' He yelled. 'I didn't think they could show that on TV!' He continued laughing. 'You know, cable has come along way since the last time I saw it.'  
'Hey boys.' Bobby yelled out. 'I've got something here for you.' He pulled up a few news stories on his computer for the boys to see.  
'Oh yeah?' Sam yelled from the kitchen. The idea that they had a potential case was comforting for him to hear. Not that he hadn't enjoyed his time at Bobby's, but he was interested. He began heading to the den. 'What is it?'  
'Well, It looks like a case to me.' Bobby replied.  
'A case?' Deans ears perked up. He got up from the TV and walked with Sam into the den. Bobby turned the computer monitor around so they could see what he was looking at. 'So, what is it Bobby?' Dean asked with excitement.  
'Don't get too excited Dean.' Bobby snickered at Dean's enthusiasm. 'It looks like we've got some Vampire activity up in Portland.'  
'Oregon?' Sam's curiosity peaked. 'I haven't been to Oregon in a long time.'  
'It should be a relatively easy case.' Bobby informed them.' Just a few deaths reported so far. I'm thinking we've probably only got two, or three Vampires tops. I don't' think there is a big nest or anything.'  
'Only two or three? They must be new Vampires then.' Dean thought out loud. 'You know what that makes them right? Easy targets.' Dean smiled widely. 'We've got this one. No problem.' He looked over at Sam's face. He looked optimistic as well. Dean was excited to get back on the road with his brother. He thought it would be a good for them. An easy kill to get them back in the swing of things.  
'Alright, good.' Bobby continued. 'Cause you know if we don't get to them now, they can multiply fast. Don't be too cocky just cause they're new Vampires either Dean. They adapt pretty quickly. A new Vampire now, can become a cold blooded death machine in a matter of days.'  
'Right.' Dean brushed off Bobby's warning. 'Well, sounds like we have a plan, we'll drive up there and gank those sons of bitches before they know what hit them.' Dean was excited.  
'Let's not get ahead of ourselves Dean.' Sam reminded his brother. 'We've got to be careful they're still Vampires.'  
'Yeah, yeah I know.'  
'This will be a good one for the two of you.' Bobby told them. 'Go take care of those Vampires and be back here for Christmas.'  
'Christmas?' Dean shook his head with surprise. He looked over at the calendar on the wall. He had completely forgot it was December. He thought about it for a minute, how had he let time pass by so quickly. 'I forgot all about Christmas.' He looked over at Sam who also looked bewildered. 'So, does this mean were invited for Christmas at the Singer house?' He asked Bobby.  
'You idjits are invited every year.' Bobby shook his head. 'The problem is you never come. This year I expect to see you here by Christmas eve. I've got presents for the both of you.' He said in a hushed tone. Bobby wasn't the kind to usually show his emotions. He knew that Sam and Dean hadn't had the best year and he thought it would be nice to spend the holidays with them.  
'Aww Bobby that's so sweet.' Dean gushed, a wide smile spreading on his face.  
'Yeah Bobby.' Sam joined his brother. 'Very sweet.'  
'Alright alright. Keep acting like that and I'll take them back.' Bobby shook his head at them. As much as he pretended to be a crotchety old man Bobby was wonderful to the Winchester boys. After Sam and Dean's father died, Bobby really made it his job to look out for them. He never had children of his own and liked looking after the boys.  
'Sorry Bobby.' Sam smirked. 'We'll be here. I promise.'  
'Well good. Why don't you boys get one last good nights rest and head out in the morning.'  
'Sounds good to me.' Dean nodded his head. 'Portland here we come.'

The boys left for Portland the next morning. It took them about 23 hours in total to get from Bobby's house in South Dakota to Portland. They went to bed after driving all day, planning to hit the local morgue the next morning. They had to make sure the victims were in fact killed by Vampires. That meant inspecting their corpses for bites and blood drainage. After that they would go inspect the city for places that Vampires liked to hunt. Dark bars, alleys, wooded areas. Sam woke up before Dean sometime around 7:30 am. He shook his brother awake and they both put on their best suits and headed to the car. There was a chill in the air and the sky was spitting freezing rain from the clouds. Sam looked all around him, he like Portland. He took a deep breath inhaling the cold air into his lungs. It was clean and refreshing. He thought about what life would be like living in the woods somewhere, a log cabin away from everything. He noticed Dean had stopped moving out of the corner of his eye. He watched his brother, but Dean wasn't taking in the nature like Sam, he was staring at a vending machine. Dean took a few steps towards the vending machine that was right outside the front office. He stared at the selections in the machine. His eyes lit up as he looked at all the junk food inside. He could hear it calling his name.  
'Double stuffed chocolate covered Oreos.' Dean moaned. He took a few steps closer to the machine until he was standing right in front of it. The faint light inside of the machine seemed to hypnotize Dean.  
'Are you serious?' Sam sighed watching his brother. 'Dean, you just raided the Continental breakfast.'  
'Sam, I can't turn down double stuffed chocolate covered Oreos.' He watched as Sam rolled his eyes at him. 'Do you have a dollar?'  
'What, no.' Sam shook his head.  
'Come on. I know you do.' Dean raised his eyebrows.  
'Maybe, but so do you.'  
'I've only got a twenty. Be a pal. Please Sammy.' He stared at his brother with big hopeful eyes.  
'God, you're like a four year old.' Sam fished in his pocket for a minute until he produced the dollar bill. He held it up for Dean to see. 'Here you go.' Sam walked towards Dean. He stopped in his tracks hearing a loud bang coming from the front office. Dean turned around to look at Sam. The noise level began rising steadily and they could hear a conversation elevating into an argument. Sam strained to make out the words. 'Listen Dean.' Sam instructed him. Dean bent down to get a better listen. He put his ear up to the door.  
'Should we do something?' Dean asked Sam.  
'I don't know. Just listen for now.' Both boys stood very still listening to an altercation between the front desk clerk and a woman.  
'This is totally unacceptable.' Her voice boomed at the man. 'Why did I bother specifically reserving a room if you were just going to rent it out to someone else?' She asked him.  
'Ma'am Please.' The man responded apathetically. 'You can have any other room.'  
'I don't want any other room. What kind of a place is this?' She demanded answers.  
'Don't yell at me okay?'  
'And why shouldn't I? Listen, I spoke to you on the phone two days ago. You said I could have that specific room. You said it wouldn't be a problem. Now I get here and it's been rented. Is this some kind of joke?'  
'Look, I just forgot alright?'  
'It's not alright. This place is practically empty. You could have rented out any number of the other rooms but you chose the one I specifically reserved. It seems a little suspicious.'  
'Why is it suspicious?'  
'I don't know. Is there a reason you can't use the other rooms. Is that why they weren't rented out instead. Maybe there something strange going on here that I should know about. Something illegal? Maybe the police should come down and investigate.' She dug into the man.  
'No no.' The man's voice became louder again. 'There's nothing like that going on. I just forgot. Give me a break!'  
'Damn.' Dean remarked to his brother. 'This girl is a pit-bull.' Sam shrugged his shoulders in response and continued to listen.  
'Okay.' She paused taking a deep breath. 'The customers who you rented my room to, did they ask for that room specifically as well?' Her line of questioning was all business. She had an accusing tone in her voice.  
'No.' He replied exasperated. 'I just messed up okay? Look I don't understand what you want that room for anyway. It's the worst room we have.' Sam and Dean continued listening closely.  
'That is not the point.' She barked back at him.  
'This is better than TV.' Dean snickered still listening intently outside the door.  
'Shut the hell up.' Sam hushed his brother. 'You want her to hear you?'  
'Hey, I wonder what sucker got the shitty room she's talking about.' Dean smiled. Sam shook his head betting it was their room.  
'Alright Ma'am.' The clerk tried his luck talking the girl down. 'I won't charge you for a room until they leave. I can set you up in room 240, it's got extra towels.' His voice sounded hopeful.  
'I don't need extra towels. I need room 237, the room I reserved.' She shot back quickly with assertion.  
'Shit.' Dean looked down at the key in his pocket. 'Room 237 that's our room.'


	2. Chapter 2

'Of course it is.' Sam shook his head.  
'Ma'am, I can give you the room after the other guest goes home. Like I said, it'll be free of charge.'  
'It's not about the money, don't you get that?' She asked him in a very condescending tone. 'And for the love of God, stop calling me Ma'am, I'm 29 years old. I'm not some old lady.'  
'Sorry Ma'am.' The clerk replied. 'What room do you want?'  
'Just give me the one next to 237.' She exhaled. 'But I want that room when they check out. Do not forget.'  
'Okay.' He pulled out a piece of paper. 'Just fill out this paperwork and I'll give you the key.'  
'I'm not filling out anything. You said the room would be free until the guests in 237 leave. I will fill out paperwork at that time. ' She stared him down. 'How am I to trust you won't forget to NOT charge me?'  
'Ma'am.'  
'Goddammit. What did I tell you?' She exhaled audibly.  
'Sorry.'  
'Can I have the key now?' She tapped her foot impatiently on the ground.  
'Yes.' He slid the key to her.  
'Thank you.' She smiled. 'Have a wonderful day.' She turned to leave the room and as she did, she pushed through the office door before Dean could get out of the way. The door swung open wide and smacked directly into Dean's head.  
'Oh, shit.' He moaned putting his hand to his head. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes tightly. He felt the pain radiating through him.  
'Oh, shit.' The girl gasped realizing she had just hit someone. She dropped a large duffel bag she was holding onto the ground. She bent down quickly to see who she had hit.  
'Dammit lady.' Dean shook his head.  
'I'm sorry.' She put her hands onto Dean's shoulders. 'Are you okay?'  
'Yeah.' Dean stood up. 'I'm fine.' He was more surprised than anything.  
'What were you doing down there?' She shook her head at him. She was tall and in good shape. A pair of tight black pants hugged her long legs. She had on black jacket over a few other layers of clothing. 'Are you sure alright?' She asked him again.  
'Yeah, just surprised.' He tried to brush it off. He took a deep breath and looked at the girl who just hit him in the head. She was almost as tall as Dean when she stood up straight. She had a sense of confidence that was very attractive. She brushed her long dark brown hair out of her face.  
'I really am sorry.' She nodded her head. She waited for Dean to respond but he just continued looking at her. She stared back at him. He noticed she had an old beauty to her face as if she could be the dark heroin in an old Film Noir movie. Dean's imagination started running as he pictured her hiding in the shadows wearing an oversize black hat meeting some detective with a brief case of documents. She looked different than most of the girls he had seen in his lifetime. 'Do you think you have a concussion?' She asked him.  
'No.' He shook his head back and forth.  
'Good. I can take you to the hospital if you want.' She opened her eyes wide. Dean noticed her eyes were two different colors. The left one was bright blue while the other was almost black.  
'That's okay. I'm fine.' Dean stared at the girl.  
'You know what.' Sam interjected. 'He's fine.' He put his hand on Dean's shoulder. 'Aren't you Dean?'  
'Yeah.' Dean nodded his head. 'That's what I said. I feel fine.' Dean continued.  
'I didn't know anyone was out here.' She shook her head. 'I would have been more careful.' Dean swallowed hard looking at the girl. She had sun kissed skin and there was a trail of light freckles on her cheek bones. He wondered where she had been that her skin was that color in the winter. Dean's eyes moved from one freckle to the other.  
'What?' Dean shook his head breaking his concentration. 'Don't worry about it. You didn't know I'd be crouched down next to the door.'  
'No I didn't. What were you doing on the ground anyway?' She asked him again suspiciously.  
'Uhm...' He looked over at Sam who was still standing by the vending machine. 'I dropped my quarter.' He pointed to the vending machine.' They've got chocolate covered Oreos in there.' He smiled widely hoping to distract her.  
'Do they?' She snickered. A big wide smile came across her face.  
'They're my favorite.' Dean eyes opened wider as he looked at her. He felt his face grow warm as she returned the smile.  
'Never too early for Oreos I guess.' She continued smiling at Dean.  
'Never.' Dean laughed.  
'Okay well, I should probably go before I hurt someone again. You don't need anything right? Ice or aspirin?' She asked Dean.  
'Nope, I'm good.' He shook his head back and forth. 'Thanks though.' He continued to smile at her.  
'I'm going to go then.' She picked up the large duffel bag she had dropped. She swung it back over her shoulder. 'Have a good day.'  
'You too.' Dean called out after the girl.  
'Bye.' She replied. She looked over at Sam. 'Bye.' She nodded her head at him.  
'See ya.' Sam replied. They watched as she walked away from Dean and Sam towards her room.  
'Oh, man.' Dean let the words escape his mouth. He let out a long sigh as she moved swiftly away from them. He watched her legs moving back and forth until she was almost out of sight. 'Nice.' He nodded his head.  
'Dean?' Sam tried to direct his attention away from the girl. 'Hello Dean?'  
'What?.' He furrowed his brow at Sam. 'Can't you see I'm busy.' He said defensively.  
'You're unbelievable.'  
'What? She's hot.' He smiled widely. 'Did you see her eyes?'  
'I didn't notice.' Sam shook his head.  
'That's your problem Sammy. You're missing out on all the beautiful women out there.'  
'I think I'll live.' Sam shook his head. 'You were totally blushing by the way.' Sam smirked at him.  
'I was not.' Dean scoffed at his brother.' You're crazy.'  
'As soon as she started smiling at you, your cheeks turned all rosy.' He teased Dean.  
'Shut the hell up.' Dean could feel his face growing warmer.  
'I have a question Dean, how is it possible that your attracted to every girl on the planet?' Sam shook his head. 'It must be some kind of genetic defect.'  
'The only genetic defect around here is you Sammy.' Dean grabbed the dollar bill out of Sam's hand. 'Just cause I'm not a snob.'  
'How am I a snob?' Sam shot back at him.  
'Oh please. A girl has to be perfect for you to even look at.'  
'That isn't true.'  
'It is too.' Dean nodded his head.  
'Whatever you say Dean.' Sam shook his head. 'You're just embarrassed that I noticed you blushing.'  
'I'm like 30 seconds away from beating the crap out of you, you got that Sammy?' Dean warned him. He fed the dollar into the machine and pressed the buttons. He watched as the cookie package dropped to the bottom of the machine. He pulled it out and ripped open the package. 'Now let's go.' He announced. He shoved a cookie into his mouth. 'Blushing? Ha!' He grumbled with his mouth full. 'Someone needs to get their eyes checked.'  
'Are you talking to yourself Dean?' Sam asked him.  
'Shut it!' Dean continued talking with his mouth full of cookies. Sam laughed at Dean. They both climbed into the Impala where Dean continued to stuff his face. He turned the music up loudly to discourage Sam from saying anything else until they got to the morgue. Sam sat quietly with a smile on his face watching the wheels in his brothers head turn. He could tell he was still thinking about the girl but Sam didn't' say anything else. The drive to the morgue was longer than they expected. The roads were beginning to ice over, and there weren't any vehicles spreading salt. The morgue was a small stand alone building in the middle of a large parking lot. The one story brick building looked like it had been constructed some time in the 1970's. They looked around the parking lot. There was only one other car parked.  
'Really looks dead around here.' Dean cracked a joke.  
'Good one.' Sam replied sarcastically. They climbed out of the car and walked up to the front door. There was a big green wreathe displayed out front.  
'Look at that, how festive.' Dean smiled showing the mess of cookie in his teeth.  
'Oh God.' Sam cringed at his brother. 'Maybe you should rinse before we go in there.'  
'I don't need to rinse.' Dean smiled again showing his chocolate covered teeth.  
'We're suposto be professionals here. You can't walk in like that.'  
'They won't even notice. Plus, I'm saving some for later.'  
'I'm going to throw up.' Sam shook his head.  
'You're being dramatic.' Dean scoffed at his brothers reaction. 'Snob.'  
'But Dean.' Sam continued. 'What if there is a girl working at the morgue, and well you have to flirt with her. It would be a shame if she couldn't get past that mouth full of cookie crumbs.'  
'Shut up.' Dean shot him down. 'I don't flirt with everyone.'  
'Since when?' Sam raised his eyebrows at Dean. 'Can we talk about what happened 20 minutes ago.' He paused for a minute to think .'Actually you weren't really flirting you were just kind of drooling.'  
'First of all. I don't drool. And second of all I can't help it that women find me irresistible.' Dean began dragging his tongue across his front teeth to try and clean up their appearance. 'You're just jealous.' He showed his front teeth to his brother again. 'There. All clean.'  
'You really are gross dude.' Sam shook his head.  
'Great, I'm gross. Enough with the beauty contest. Can we go inside and look at some dead bodies?' Dean pulled open the morgue door.


	3. Chapter 3

'Yes, please.' Sam replied. He followed his brother into the small waiting room. There were a few metal chairs and an old coffee table directly to the left. A large door in front of them and little window to the right. The whole place was brightly lit and there were Christmas decorations everywhere. 'Wow.' Sam marveled. 'This is the most upbeat morgue I've ever seen.' He looked around but didn't see anyone. There was a bell sitting on the front desk. Sam dinged it with his finger. 'Hello?' He spoke out loud. 'Anyone here?' Sam and Dean waited for a minute. Dean dinged the bell again with his finger.  
'One minute!' A young woman's voice called out. 'I'll be right there.'  
'Uh oh.' Sam remarked. 'That sounded like a female voice.'  
'Will you quit it?' Dean swatted at the air near Sam's face. Sam laughed again.  
'Hello.' A young woman appeared. She smiled genuinely at the brothers. She appeared to be in her mid thirties. 'What can I do for you?' She was dressed head to in a long white lab coat. There were a few blood stains here and there but nothing too gruesome. She was wearing black rimmed glasses and her brown hair was pulled up in a bun on the top of her head.  
'Good morning.' Sam took the lead. 'I'm agent Halford and this is agent Osborne were from the FBI.'  
'FBI? Well, it's nice to meet both of you.' She smoothed her lab coat.  
'We are here investigating some of the strange deaths that have been occurring in your area recently.' Sam continued.  
'Yes.' She smiled. 'I though you would be. This is cool.' She immediately changed her expression. 'Oh, sorry. Not to be excited about strange deaths. That's not what I meant. It's just we mostly get heart attacks around here. Anything out the norm is kind of a big deal.' She nodded her head.  
'We understand.' Sam nodded his head.  
'Are you the only person working here?' Dean asked the woman.  
'No. Eric is here somewhere. I'm the assistant Medical Examiner. My name is Bethany Howard. Dr. Harrison is the person in charge. He's actually out with our intern picking up another body. He will probably be back in a half an hour if you want to wait.'  
'That's not necessary. Will you be able to show us one of the bodies?' Sam asked her.  
'Absolutely. Let me grab a few lab coats for you. I'll be right back.' She turned around and began walking away. She yelled across the room as she walked. 'Eric, are you in the lunch room?'  
'Yes, I'm in here.' He replied.  
'Will you buzz the FBI Agents in please?'  
'Sure.' A young man in his early twenties walked up to the door and pressed the buzzer. He was short and thin with wide eyes. The gate in front of the door vibrated and made a loud noise. Sam pulled on the handle allowing them access into the reception area.  
'Hello.' Eric smiled widely at the boys. 'More police officers, awesome.'  
'Yeah.' Dean stared at the boy with unease. 'Awesome.'  
'Do you want some coffee?' He asked Sam and Dean.  
'No, thank you.' Dean replied very professionally. He watched the smile spread on the boys face. His expression was creepy.  
'Donut?' He asked.  
'No.' Dean shook his head, turning down food for the first time in his life.  
'Candy cane?' He asked him. Dean thought about it for a minute but shook his head declining the offer. 'We have fruit cake as well.'  
'I think were both fine.' Sam intervened. 'If you could show us the exam room that would be wonderful.' Sam followed up. He made eye contact with Dean, who was watching Eric out of the corner of his eye.  
'Absolutely. It's right this way.' He motioned for Sam and Dean to follow him. 'If you change your mind about the food at any time let me know.' The boy was very strange.  
'We will.' Dean nodded his head. Sam and Dean stood still right outside of the exam room waiting until Bethany appear with two lab coats for them to put on.  
'These should fit. Now if you'll just follow me, right through this door.' She ushered them into a large cold exam room.  
'So, Eric was he the one who put up all these decorations?' Dean asked Bethany.  
'He did.' Bethany nodded. 'I know he seems a little strange but he's very helpful.'  
'I bet he is.' Sam replied.  
'Believe it or not he's one of the more normal assistants we've had in here. You wouldn't believe the weirdo's who apply for this job.'  
'I bet I would.' Dean remarked.  
'Okay maybe you would.' She laughed. 'Either way he's been here for over a year. He's harmless.' She closely examined the names on the morgue wall. 'Let me show you the body we got in last night. I haven't had a chance to do a full autopsy, but it looks very similar to the other six we've gotten.' She pulled out a large steel drawer in the wall. 'You boys have done this before right?' She asked cautiously.  
'Oh Yes.' Dean nodded his head. 'Many times.'  
'Good. Just making sure.' She pulled off the white sheet to reveal a middle aged man. 'If you'll notice the wound on the right side of the neck, this injury is consistent with the injuries sustained on the other 5 victims.' She pointed to the puncture marks.  
'Puncture wounds.' Sam observed taking a closer look at the wounds.  
'Yes. This is also consistent with massive blood loss. Most likely the cause of death.' She paused for a minute. She stared down at the pale white corpse. There were dark purple bruising around the victims neck. 'He looks just like all the other ones. It's almost as if...' She trailed off as she spoke.  
'As if what?' Sam asked her interrupting her thought.  
'Oh.' She shook her head snapping out of her own head. 'I was going to say, it's almost as if they were bitten by Vampires.' She chuckled nervously. 'But, we all know that's impossible.' She smiled.  
'Very impossible.' Dean replied.  
'I'm sorry.' She laughed again. 'My step daughter is really into Vampires right now, it's all we hear around the house. I guess I've got it on the brain.'  
'Ahh.' Dean nodded his head. 'The sparkly ones?'  
'Oh, no.' She shook her head. 'We got her into the classics. You know, the Lost Boys, Fright Night, that sort of thing.'  
'Nice.' Dean nodded his head in approval.  
'So, what do you think agents? I mean besides the Vampire thing.' She smiled. 'Do you have any theories about these deaths?'  
'Actually, we've seen this sort of thing before.' Sam answered her. He pulled out his small notebook and pretended to read from it. 'There is a very rare genetic disease we think may be responsible for these types of deaths.' He lied to her.  
'Really?' She asked him skeptically. 'What disease is that?'  
'I wish we could tell you.' He furrowed his brow. 'Unfortunately it's classified. I can tell you it's usually seen in small batches like this, and it isn't contagious. Hopefully you won't get any more bodies like this.'  
'I hope not. As much as it's exciting these are pretty gruesome deaths.'  
'They sure are.' Dean remarked. All three people were silent for a minute. 'Okay then.' Dean clapped his hands. 'I think that's all we need from you today.' Dean pulled off his latex gloves and offered his hand to Bethany.  
'Well.' She took her gloves off. 'Thank you then.'  
'No, thank you.' Dean replied.  
'Yes, you've been very helpful.' Sam shook her hand as well. 'Should we show ourselves out?' He asked her.  
'Sure. Once you get to the gate just let Eric buzz you out.'  
'Thanks a lot.' Dean nodded his head and followed Sam out of the exam room. They took their lab coats off and hung them on a hook before walking to the front gate. Eric cheerfully buzzed them out and back into the lobby.  
'It was nice to see you Agents.' He said to them as they approached the front door. 'Have a great day, and Merry Christmas!' He exclaimed.  
'Right.' Dean pulled his car keys out of his pocket. 'You too.' Sam and Dean walked out the front door and back into the empty parking lot. Dean opened the car door. 'Well.' He cleared his throat. 'Definitely Vampires.'  
'Definitely.' Sam agreed.  
'What do you say we go get a bite to eat before it gets dark out.' Dean suggested. 'Tomorrow we will get a plan together.'  
'Yeah, we could do that.' Sam agreed.  
'Great.' Dean was happy that Sam was a little more relaxed than usual. The boys drove until they reached a Southern Diner not too far from the motel. The small wooded building was brightly lit and painted. The parking lot was packed with cars. Dean parked and stepped out into the cold air. 'Oh Sammy.' Dean remarked taking a deep breath in. 'Smell that?'  
'Yeah.' Sam smiled. 'It smells amazing.'  
'Let's get some Barbecue!' Dean exclaimed happily. They walked inside the restaurant and were greeted by the sound of Howlin Wolf's gritty vocals over the stereo system. Sam and Dean looked around at the bustling restaurant. Almost all the tables were full of people eating and drinking. It was the most people they had seen in the small town all day.  
'I guess this is where everyone has been hiding out.' Sam remarked.


	4. Chapter 4

'I guess so.' They stood by the reception area and waited for someone to seat them. The hostess sat them at the last free table near the back of the restaurant.  
'Southern food in Portland.' Dean remarked to the waiter when he laid down the menu. 'That's different.'  
'Our head chef is originally from Alabama. He opened the place about two years ago, he said the whole world should be able to enjoy southern cooking.'  
'Well, I agree with him there.' Dean smiled.  
'Can I start you off with some drinks?' The stalky waiter pulled out his pen.  
'Absolutely.' Dean smiled. 'What's a good Southern drink?' He thought for a minute. His attention was drawn across the room to the bar. He looked at the different liquor bottles stacked across the mirror.  
'Sweet tea with vodka?' The waiter suggested.  
'Nah.' Dean continued to look at the liquor bottles. 'I guess I'll just have whiskey on the rocks for now.' His eyes drifted across the bar to a young woman sitting at one of the bar stools. He immediately recognized her as the girl who hit him in the head earlier.  
'Dean?' Sam waved his hand in front of his brother. 'Dean, what are you looking at?' He turned around and tried to see what Dean was looking at. He saw the girls long legs dangling from the bar seat. 'Oh.' Sam smiled. 'It's her again.'  
'Yeah.' Dean nodded his head. 'It is.' Dean wanted to get up and talk to her, in any other situation he would have already been at the bar talking to her but he hesitated now.  
'I'll come back for your food order.' The waiter announced.  
'Thank you.' Dean stood up quickly still staring at the girl. 'I'm going to go over there and talk to her.' He turned to look at Sam. 'I don't want to hear anything about it.' He stared down at his brother.  
'Go ahead.' Sam gave Dean permission. 'I'm not going to make fun of you. She's pretty, go talk to her.'  
'Oh now she's pretty?' Dean asked Sam. 'You said earlier...'  
'All I said was that I didn't notice her eyes.' Sam reminded him. 'Just cause I wasn't blushing over her doesn't mean I didn't notice she was pretty.'  
'Whatever.' Dean shook his head. 'I'm going over there.'  
'Okay.'  
'Do me a favor. If the waiter comes back order me the special, extra BBQ sauce.'  
'Will do.' Sam agreed. He pulled out a small notebook and began writing.  
'Thanks Sammy.' Dean began walking towards the bar. He stood still looking at the back of the girl. Her legs dangled carelessly from the bar stool, she wore little black flats on her feet that she kicked off her toes. Dean took a deep breath and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to look at Dean. 'Hey.' He began. 'Remember me?'  
'Yeah.' She raised her eyebrows. 'Oreo cookies right? How's your head?'  
'It's pretty much back to normal.' Dean replied.  
'Good, I'm glad.' She nodded her head.  
'I mean, it's not the first time I've been hit in the head.' He smiled awkwardly.  
'No?' She raised her eyebrows at him. There was an uncomfortable silence. Dean and the girl seemed to be sizing up each other. Dean took a deep breath, looking into her eyes he noticed that her eye color was different than it had been earlier that day.  
'Hey, this may sound weird but, didn't your eyes look different earlier?' He asked.  
'They did. I'm actually wearing a color contact.' She pointed to her right eye. 'I got in the habit of putting it in whenever I go out. It's easier than attracting attention.'  
'That's too bad.' Dear furrowed his brow.  
'Why?'  
'I don't know. I like them, two different color eyes are not something you see all the time.' Dean shrugged his shoulders. 'Unless your a dog.'  
'Right. Well, that is one of the many reasons I wear the contacts.' She exhaled. 'Thanks for the K9 comparison though.' She began turning back around on the bar stool.  
'Hey, hold on a second. I was just kidding.' He laughed. 'I didn't mean that.' He put his hand on her shoulder. She turned her head sharply to look at Dean's hand. 'Let me buy you a drink.' He offered.  
'That's alright.' She took a sip of her drink. 'I've got one.'  
'Well, let me buy the next one.' He smiled widely turning on the charm. 'You know, I really like dogs. It's actually a compliment.' Dean waited for her to laugh or smile but she looked back at him skeptically. 'Come on.' He raised his eyebrow at her. Her expression didn't change. Dean noticed a bowl of peanuts sitting on the bar in front of her. He stuck his hand into a bowl hungrily. He shoved an oversize handful into his mouth. He began to chew messily. 'Don't hate me.' He pleaded spilling nuts all over himself.  
'Your making a mess.' She observed. Her mouth began to widen as she watched Dean eat. He noticed the beginning of her smile and grabbed some more peanuts.  
'What? Did I get any on me?' He asked with fake surprise. He put more of the peanuts in his mouth. He liked seeing her smile.  
'Just a few.' She began to chuckle. She watched him continue to make a mess of himself. 'Cut it out.' She continued to laugh at him while he chewed the peanuts. He brushed the lose ones off his shirt as her laughter began to slow down. 'You're ridiculous.' She smiled.  
'Yeah? You still hate me?'  
'I don't hate you.' She shook her head at Dean. 'I don't even know you.'  
'Well come get to know me. My brother and I are eating at a table across the room. You should join us.' He pointed to Sam who's back was turned to them.  
'That's very nice of you but...'  
'But what?' Dean asked her.  
'As much as I'd love to sit there and watch you spill food over yourself all night, I probably shouldn't. I'm just a little cautious with strangers.'  
'Were more than strangers.' Dean nodded his head at her. 'You gave me massive head trauma earlier today, were practically best friends.'  
'Wow. Now it's massive head trauma?' She shook her head. Her eyes scanned Dean carefully. 'Let me ask you something. Does this kind of thing always work with girls?' She asked him.  
'What thing?' He asked surprised at her question and a little offended.  
'I'm just saying, a pretty face like yours, I bet you don't even try most of the time.'  
'I'm just trying to be nice.' He shrugged his shoulders. 'You don't have to come if you don't want to.' Her face softened as she thought about Dean's words.  
'Okay, I'm sorry.' She apologized. 'It's been a long day.' She sipped her drink. 'I'll join you.' She put a few dollars down on the bar.  
'Great.' Dean waived his hand for her to follow. 'My brother is the one who looks like a massive tree trunk reading a book.' He pointed to Sam.  
'Wow. How tall is he?'  
'I don't know, 7 feet.'  
'He is not.' She laughed. Dean continued to lead her to their table. Sam kept his head down reading a book quietly. Dean cleared his throat as they approached to get Sam's attention. 'Hey.' Dean pointed to their new guest. 'You remember our friend from earlier right?'  
'Yeah.' Sam looked up at the familiar face. He smiled at her. 'How's it going?'  
'It's going well.' She replied politely.  
'Shit.' Dean shook his head. 'I just realized I don't know your name.' He looked at the girl.  
'And here I thought we were such close friends.' She teased him.  
'Very funny.' Dean scolded her.  
'My name is Maddie.' She smiled.  
'Nice to meet you.' Sam reached his hand out to shake hers. 'I'm Sam.'  
'Nice to meet you Sam.' She smiled and squeezed Sam's hand tightly.  
'Maddie.' Dean nodded his head. 'As in Madeline?'  
'As in Madeline.' She replied.  
'Well, my name is Dean. Have a seat Maddie.' Dean pulled out a chair for her next to him.  
'Thank you.' She sat down and made her self more comfortable. She looked at the faces of the two handsome brothers she sat with. They were both still wearing suits. Dean had taken off the tie. She watched them quietly for a minute. 'So, what's with the suits?' She asked them.  
'We just got off of work.' Dean offered taking a sip of his drink.  
'What are you traveling sales men or something?' She jabbed them slightly.  
'Not quite.' Sam replied. 'We actually work for the CDC. We're just in town checking on some routine cases.'  
'The CDC?' She asked incredulously. 'What a small world.' She shook her head. 'I know some people there.'  
'You do?' Sam's facial expression fell. He swallowed hard.  
'Sure. Do you know Evelyn Williams or Tim Cavanaugh?' She asked them. She could feel her heart beating rapidly she already knew they were lying and she was excited to trip them up. The boys stared back at her, she could see by the expression on Sam's face he was panicking. Both Sam and Dean paused for a second to give the other one a chance to talk. The second of silence felt like an eternity.  
'It doesn't ring a bell.' Dean smiled nervously. 'It's a big department though.'  
'Sure, but I know how tight you CDC guys are.' She sipped her drink carefully and watched the eyes of the two brothers. Her brain raced. She felt her body tense. 'You know, I'm surprised you don't know them. Especially Evelyn, she's the Deputy Director.' She shook her head. 'Everyone knows her.'  
'Were relatively new to the department.' Sam tried to cover his tracks even though he could see that she wasn't buying it.  
'Here you go.' The waiter interrupted them at the perfect moment. He put Sam and Dean's dinner dishes down in front of them. Both boys gave each other a quick look. How did this girl know people in the CDC? Was it possible she was bluffing, and if so why?  
'Can I get any more drinks for you?' He asked the table.  
'Yes.' Dean nodded. He looked over at Maddie. 'What about you Maddie? What are you going to have?' He asked her.  
'Let's see.' She thought for a minute. She wanted to continue to sit with these two, they were hiding something. She glanced down at the menu for a minute. 'I'll have a Kentucky Buck.' She told the waiter.  
'What is that?' Dean asked her. 'It sounds good.'  
'Bourbon, bitters, it's an old Southern Drink.' She explained to Dean.  
'That's what I was looking for earlier.' Dean remarked genuinely impressed by her drink selection. 'Make it two.' He said to the waiter. 'How about you Sammy?'  
'No thanks.' He shook his head. Sam wanted to keep a clear head and an eye on their dinner guest.  
'Two Kentucky Bucks.' The waiter nodded his head. 'Coming right up.'  
'Thanks.' Dean waived a hand at the waiter. He turned to Maddie. 'So, are you from the South?' Dean asked her trying to change the subject.  
'Oh, no. My old college roommate was. Her Great Grandmother was a Bootlegger and well, her family has a tradition of strong drinking women. She taught me everything she knew.' She smiled with pride.  
'I like the sound of that.' Dean took a big bite of his pulled pork sandwich. Sauce ran all down his face. 'So where are you from then?' He asked with a full mouth.  
'East Coast.' She smiled almost completely forgetting she didn't trust these two men who sat with her. Even though they were lying to her, she felt a strange attraction towards Dean.  
'Well then, that explains the unfriendliness!' Dean exclaimed between chewing.  
'Is it that bad?' She laughed again. She couldn't help but find his table manners funny. Something about him being goofy tickled her inside.


	5. Chapter 5

'Where on the East Coast?' Sam asked her.  
'I'm from Boston.'  
'Bean town.' Dean commented still eating while he spoke.  
'Yeah, Bean town.' She laughed at him again.  
'Can you finish chewing before you speak please?' Sam asked Dean annoyed by his display. 'Sorry about that.'  
'It's fine.' She agreed.  
'Yeah, she likes it.' Dean smiled.  
'Wonderful.' Sam shook his head. 'So, what are you doing so far from home?' Sam continued with his line of questioning. 'Working?'  
'No, unfortunately I lost my job a few months back.' She answered solemnly.  
'Sorry to hear about that.' Sam replied.  
'It's okay. I'm actually just in town visiting friends.' She crossed and un crossed her legs uncomfortably.  
'Friends from the CDC?' Sam asked her he wanted to figure out if she was bluffing or not.  
'No. Just college friends.' She took a deep breath. Sam was trying to get under her skin. She smiled mischievously, she wasn't going to tell him what he really wanted to know. Not until she knew why they were in town.  
'That's nice.' Sam looked her up and down trying to figure her out. 'So, how do you know people in the CDC again?'  
'My department worked with the CDC on several occasions. I became friendly with people there.' She answered vaguely. 'But the last time I really worked with them was over a year ago. I'm sure the department has all new people in it by now. You know how the government is.'  
'Sure we do.' Dean replied.  
'You know what though.' Sam piped up. 'The department did say they went through a lot of changes before we were assigned.' Sam lied to her.  
'That makes sense.' She finished the drink that was sitting in front of her. 'I'm surprised that you both got hired there being brothers. They usually have limited spots. I'd think hiring two people from the same family could cause tension.'  
'Who said we were brothers?' Sam asked her suspiciously.  
'You're not brothers?' She looked over at Dean. 'Dean said he was eating dinner with his brother.'  
'No, we're brothers.' Dean shook his head. He looked back at Sam. Dean couldn't believe how badly this was going. He could feel his blood pressure rising.  
'I'm sorry.' Sam laughed nervously .'We actually keep that fact kind of secret for those exact reasons.' Sam replied quickly. 'Sorry.'  
'That's quite alright.' She smiled pleased with herself. 'So, are you investigating anything special while you are here?'  
'Just routine stuff.' Sam answered again more quickly this time.  
'Here you go.' The waiter put down two tall glasses in front of Dean and Maddie. 'Can I get you anything else? How's the sandwich?' He asked Dean.  
'Amazing.' He smiled at the waiter. This caused Maddie to smile. She seemed to be warming up to Dean. Not so much with Sam.  
'Alright. Enjoy.' He said as he walked away.  
'Aaah Yes.' Maddie said as she looked at the cocktail in front of her. 'Now Dean, if you like Whiskey, you're going to love this drink.' Maddie said pointing to Dean's glass. 'I just hope you can handle your drinks, they aren't for the faint at heart.' She smiled mischievously at him.  
'What are you kidding me? I can handle it.' He puffed up his chest slightly feeling his masculinity threatened.  
'Yeah, I bet you can.' She answered with a smile. She picked up the cool glass and put the straw up to her mouth. 'Cheers Dean.'  
'Cheers.' Dean lifted his glass up to Maddie. She clinked her glass with his causing some of the liquid from each glass to splash out of the top. They both laughed. No mention was made of the CDC for the rest of the night. Dean and Maddie continued drinking, every time one of them ordered a drink the other would order the same. They were playing with each other, challenging the other one. They both knew it but kept right on drinking. Dean was surprised at how well she could keep up with him. Maddie had a fierce competitive stare that excited Dean. He liked a challenge and this girl certainly was a challenge. Sam watched Maddie cautiously through out the night. He noticed that she had a gun inside the pocket of her jacket, he also noticed a knife in her boot. As Dean and Maddie continued talking and drinking they began to drop their guard, or so it seemed. After the final bill came Sam and Dean put money down on the table refusing to let Maddie pay for her drinks. She thanked them sincerely and stood up to leave. She quickly clutched the table realizing she was shakier than she had thought. She took a deep breath trying to save face.  
'Dean.' Sam approached his brother discretely. 'She can't drive.' He held his hands out to this brother. 'Neither can you for that matter. You should give me your keys.'  
'Alright.' Dean surprisingly gave Sam little grief about him driving Dean's car. He pulled his keys out and handed them to his brother. 'I'm going to go ask her if she wants a ride. Hey, Maddie.' Dean turned to face her. 'You should probably let us give you a lift back to the motel.'  
'Um.' She looked around the still crowded restaurant. 'What about my car?'  
'We can drop you off tomorrow morning to pick it up.' Sam said.  
'Alright.' She took a deep breath. She decided to take the risk even though she knew Sam and Dean were keeping secrets from her. She wasn't sure why just yet, but she didn't think they were going to harm her tonight. She thought they wanted information that she wasn't going to give them. She put on her jacket clutching the pocket that contained her gun. She followed Sam and Dean to the parking lot where the Impala was parked. Maddie stopped walking when she saw the vehicle. 'This is your car?' She turned to Dean.  
'Yup, that's my baby.' He beamed.  
'Wow.' Her eyes lit up and she forgot all about the careful front she was trying to maintain. 'It's beautiful.' She smiled widely. She walked up to it and ran her hand across the hood. 'My dad drove a 66 Nova when I was a little kid.' She took a deep breath thinking about her father. 'I love muscle cars.'  
'Whiskey and muscle cars?' Dean slurred his words slightly. 'Are you sure your a girl?'  
'Oh, I'm sure.' She raised her eyebrows flirtatiously at Dean.  
'Let's go you two.' Sam rolled his eyes at them. It was late when they arrived back at the motel. Sam wondered what Maddie was going to say when she realize that they were occupying the room she had caused such a fuss about earlier. He parked the car and everyone climbed out.  
'Well, thank you gentleman very much.' Maddie smiled at Sam and Dean. 'I had a nice night.'  
'So did we.' Dean replied.  
'Well this is me.' She pointed to room 236. 'Just let me know when you have time tomorrow so I can pick up the car.'  
'Sure. Were just next door, you can knock when you wake up.' Dean said.  
'You're in room 237?' Her voice lowered. She held her breath as she waited for them to speak.  
'Yeah.' Dean shook his head. He then remembered it was the room she wanted. He decided to play dumb. She didn't' know that they had overheard her fight.  
'That's funny, I wanted that room.' She scrunched up her face trying to play off her shock and anger. 'You see 237 is my favorite number. I told the guy at the front desk I wanted to stay there. Unfortunately, you guys got to it first.'  
'Well, if it makes you feel any better, this room is kind of a dump.' Dean replied honestly.  
'It doesn't really matter.' She replied flatly. 'My room is nice, I'm happy with it. I should probably go to sleep now.' She nodded her head calmly. 'Thanks again Sam and Dean.'  
'Alright, well let us know when you want to pick up that car.' Dean reminded her.  
'Right.' She pulled her room key out of her purse and pushed it into the door of her room. 'Goodnight.' She turned.  
'Goodnight.' They replied in unison


	6. Chapter 6

Sam and Dean sat in the corner booth at the local breakfast place. The sun had begun to peak through the thick clouds that seemed to be a staple in Portland. Dean focused his attention on the world outside the window. He saw cars passing by with large Christmas tree's strapped on top. He thought about the Christmas' when his mother and father were both still around, before Sam was born. He didn't remember much other than his Mothers warm smile and how she kissed him on the forehead. He thought about Christmas after their mother had died. It was just Dean, Sam and their father usually sitting on a motel couch watching static Christmas cartoons. Dean looked down at his breakfast, and then to his cup of coffee. He drank down the rest of it. Sam sat on the other side of the booth studying a map. There were all different markings and symbols on the map. Dean thought about how nice it would be if he and Sam could make it back to Bobby's this year. Sam squinted his eyes trying to make sense of the pattern on the map.  
'Alright, I think I've isolated all the Vampire activity to these few square miles. If we head out there tonight I'm sure we can find out where they are staying. There are probably only two of them. If there were more the body count would be higher.' Sam looked up at his brother who didn't seem to be listening to him. 'Dean? What do you think?'  
'Last night was weird right?' Dean asked Sam completely ignoring his previous statement. Dean poured himself some more coffee.  
'Maddie is definitely hiding something if that's what you mean.' Sam continued to study the map he had in front of him. He pulled some money out of his pocket and tucked it under his empty coffee cup. 'Maybe we should check out this area before dark as well. They might have a small nest somewhere in the woods. If we can find them while they're sleeping we can just take care of them now.'  
'There's something more to her. Something she's not telling us, she's not just some girl on a road trip visiting friends.' Dean reached into his back pocket to get money.  
'No she's not.' Sam agreed.  
'She's very serious. She has this fierce confidence and assertive speech.' He thought for a minute. 'Shit, maybe she's a cop.'  
'It's possible.' Sam nodded his head. 'She dresses like cop. She's quick thinking like cop. Cool under pressure. You know that sort of thing.'  
'Dammit, I wanted you to disagree.' Dean shook his head looking back out the window.  
'She seems too smart to be a cop though.' Sam replied. 'She might be FBI.'  
'Perfect.' Dean groaned. 'That would make sense, your right. God damn it. It's always something isn't it?' He shook his head thinking about all the other girls. He thought about Ofure's words that he would soon meet a girl who would be different. She was different alright, but not in any way that was good for Dean. He felt strangely disappointed. 'I knew she couldn't be the one.' He said out loud thinking about Ofure's prediction. 'It's just not possible, I don't think she exists.' He shook his head.  
'What are you talking about Dean?' Sam furrowed his brow at Dean.  
'Nothing.' He replied quickly. He looked back out the window. His mind still raced thinking about Maddie. 'What I don't get is that note she left this morning.' He continued. 'I mean, why would she walk all the way back to the restaurant to get her car? We said we would drive her. It's freezing outside. Don't you think that's a little strange?'  
'I don't know Dean. Probably.' Sam continued looking at the map. 'Look, we can try and figure this out later. First we've got to take care of these Vampires. It's Tuesday, we told Bobby we'd be back by Thursday.'  
'I know, I know.' Dean looked in his wallet for money so he could pay for his breakfast. 'Let me just pay and we can go.' His fingers felt the inside of his wallet but it was empty. He sighed realizing his had spent all his money last night. 'Sam, I don't have any money.'  
'Again?' Sam asked him with exasperation. 'Great.' He pulled out more money from his pocket. 'You're going to pay me back this time.' He replied.  
'Fine.' Dean shook his head.  
'You do this to me every time, and you never pay me back.'  
'Jesus Sammy. It's only like five bucks. What are you getting so bent out of shape for?'  
'Five bucks? Not quite. Dean everywhere we go, you get the biggest meal possible.' He flipped over the check. 'Look at this. My breakfast cost 4.99, your breakfast fifteen dollars! Fifteen, Dean!'  
'Alright, alright.' He stood up from the booth. 'Since when did you get so stingy?' He shook his head at Sam who was folding up the map.  
'Since I'm going broke trying to keep up with your monstrous appetite.' Sam and Dean exited the restaurant. They walked to the Impala and climbed in the car. The air was thin and cold. 'So where are we going?' He asked Sam.  
'Start by going West at the 270 Interstate, a few miles down we should come to the State Park. That's where were going to find them.'  
'Alright.' Dean smiled 'Let's do this.' They drove the Impala through the State Park roads looking for any evidence of Vampire activity or a possible nest. The windshield wipers moved back and forth rapidly as it began raining hard. Dean squinted his eyes to look around him. All he could see was the water smeared on the windshield. He was getting aggravated.  
'Sam this is pointless.' He pulled the car over to the side of the path and put it in park. 'I can't see a thing. We need to get out. It's the only way we will be able to see.'  
'Fine.' Sam opened up his door to get out. He closed the door quietly behind him as did Dean. They both walked to the trunk where they kept their ammunition and supplies. They took out two large bowie knives, and a few syringes of dead man's blood. They began their descent deeper into the woods looking for any tell tale Vampire signs. They walked for a long time with out seeing anything. The wet leaves crunched under their feet as they moved.  
'Are you sure this is where they're hiding out Sam?' Dean questioned his brother. 'I just don't see anything around here that would make me think Vampires are close. No dead animals, not even any foot prints.'  
'Maybe they're getting better at hiding their tracks.' Sam thought out loud. He looked all around him but didn't see anything. It didn't make any sense to him, this had to be where they were living. Sam began to doubt his abilities as a hunter. This job was suposto be easy and now they were lost in the woods with no leads on the Vampires. Sam exhaled slowly and continued to look around. His eyes scanned the tops of the trees and he noticed a brick chimney far in the distance. 'Hey, Dean do you see that chimney?' He asked as he pointed ahead. 'It looks like it's attached to an old log cabin.' Sam's heart began to beat faster at the prospect of finding the Vampire hideout.  
'I see it, but I don't know. It doesn't seem like a Vampire hideout to me.'  
'You're not even going to check it out?' He asked Dean incredulously.  
'Oh I'm definitely going to check it out.' Dean said with a smile. He pulled the large knife from his belt. 'I just don't think were going to find anything in there.'  
'Alright. Let's just look.' Sam agreed. They walked quietly towards the cabin. As they got closer Sam pointed out a few animal carcasses on the ground. He didn't say anything to Dean he just pointed. Dean nodded his head in agreement. It felt good to both brothers to be out hunting again. This was where they felt the most alive, the prospect of killing evil and making the world safer was a rush. Dean usually took the lead, he felt a sense of responsibility over his younger brother. No matter what was going on Dean always had one eye on Sam at all times, even though Sam usually didn't need it. Dean pointed to the back entrance letting Sam know that he should go in through the back door. Sam nodded his head and tip toed though the brush to find the back entrance. Dean watched his brother until he was out of sight.  
'Okay.' Dean whispered to himself. He took a deep breath. He held the knife in one hand and pulled his leg backwards. In one quick motion he kicked the front door open. He fully expected to see a bunch of sleeping blood suckers littered around the cabin. He ran inside ready to fight but he didn't see anyone inside. A second later Sam kicked the back door open. Dean scanned the room with his eyes. 'Sammy!?' he yelled to him.  
'Yeah I'm here.' Sam yelled back. His eyes surveyed the dark kitchen he was standing in. There was definite evidence that Vampires were living there, but it was deserted.  
'You see anything?' Dean asked him.  
'Not really. You?'  
'Not really.' Dean walked around the front living room. He scratched his head with surprise. Vampires weren't real fans of the sunlight. He wondered why they would be out during the day.  
'I see three beds.' Sam yelled to his brother. 'This is definitely their nest.'  
'Yeah. But where are they?' Dean asked as he walked towards the back of the cabin where Sam was.  
'I don't know.' Sam shrugged his shoulders as he met Dean in the room. 'Look at this.' He pointed to the three beds, they were covered in crusty old blood.  
'Gross. I hate Vampires.' Dean growled. 'You think they'd be more clean.'  
'Please, can we talk about the mess you leave behind when you eat?' Sam replied.  
'Yeah, but I'm not eating people.' Dean shuddered.


	7. Chapter 7

'Thank God for that.' He shook his head. 'Maybe they moved on.' Sam suggested looking through some of the items that were littered around the room. 'You know, found another log cabin.'  
'Maybe.' Dean shrugged. Sam took another step towards Dean when he felt like there was something behind him. He turned his head sharply to see a small figure behind him. He paused at the size of the creature. He had been hiding the whole time. It was as if he blended into the walls. Sam's eyes widened as he looked at the small pale creature. He watched as the creatures hands reached out to Sam.  
'SAM!' Dean yelled out realizing that Sam was frozen. 'Vampire! Little Vampire!' He clarified. Sam stood there as the Vampire got closer to him. 'MOVE IT SAMMY!'  
'Shit.' Sam shook his head breaking him self out of the trance. He didn't want to believe that it was actually a child Vampire. He had no choice though he had to do something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a needle. The little creature bared it's row of sharp teeth and lunged towards Sam. Sam hadn't seen a young Vampire in a long time. In one quick motion he plunged the hypodermic straight into the Vampires neck.  
'Holy Hell!' Dean yelled out as he watched the scene unfold. Sam's blow to the neck caused the small Vampire to shake in pain. Sam pushed the plunger down on the needle causing the dead man's blood to flow directly into the Vampire. His small body collapsed onto the floor. Sam took a step back looking at him. The little boy Vampire cried out in pain as he clutched his stomach. Dean walked closer to Sam and the young Vampire. He shook his head in horror. 'He's just a boy.' He frowned.  
'What should we do Dean?' Sam looked at the little Vampire. He writhed in agony, the dead man's blood would weaken him enough just to make sure he wasn't dangerous. They knew they couldn't keep him in this state for too long. It was cruel.  
'We need to find the others.' Dean took a step towards the Vampire boy. He stared down at him. 'Hey, where are your parents?' Dean asked the Vampire boy. He crouched down next to him. The boy looked back at him with hate in his eyes. 'Where are your parents?'  
'I'm going to eat you for breakfast.' The boy whispered to Dean. He began to laugh. An evil laugh that made Sam and Dean's hair stand on end. The small Vampire continued to stare at him clutching his stomach.  
'Well, this just got easier.' Dean shook his head. He pulled out the knife.  
'No. Please.' The small Vampire boy cried. 'I didn't chose to be this way. Don't kill me. I'm just a boy.'  
'Shut up.' Dean gritted his teeth. He couldn't bare to hurt a kid. Even though he was a Vampire he was still a young kid. Dean was furious that he was turned so young. 'Look, you have to tell us where your parents are.' Dean pleaded with the boy.  
'They left me here.' The boy answered quietly.  
'Dean, we can't do this.' Sam turned to his brother. 'We can't torture him like the other Vampires.'  
'I know that!' Dean got closer to the boy. The boy stared at Sam and Dean quietly. 'Damn it.' Dean gripped the knife in his hand. He knew he had to kill the boy. He wished there was another way. He had no choice he couldn't keep him in this state. 'Sam move out of the way.' Sam took a step back. 'Sorry kid.' Dean said. He swiftly swung the knife slicing off the Vampire boys head in one quick motion. The head flew across the room and hit the wall with a disgusting thud. Dean closed his eyes tightly feeling the sting in his chest. He exhaled audibly. The sound of the boys head being severed reverberated in his head. He looked down to see dark red blood pouring from the open wound on top of the boys neck. Dean had to turn around. He couldn't bare to look at him anymore. Sam took a sheet off one of the beds and covered the Vampire boys body with it.  
'Are you alright Dean?' Sam asked his brother knowing how hard that was for him.  
'Yeah Sam.' Dean paced around the living room. He turned back around to look down at the sheet covering the body. He was thankful that Sam had covered it. 'I'm okay.' He walked farther away from the bloody mess on the floor. 'Well, that's going to get Mom and Dad's attention when they finally return.'  
'Should we clean it up?' Sam asked.  
'No.' Dean replied quickly. 'I can't do it.'  
'Should we stay here then? Wait for the parents to return?' Sam asked.  
'No.' Dean shook his head. 'Truth is, they're going to smell us for miles away. We should just head back to the motel and expect they will find us.' He cleared his throat.  
'Is that a good idea?' Sam questioned Dean's plan.  
'It's better to be on our own turf then on theirs don't you think?'  
'I suppose so.' Sam agreed.  
'Alright, well let's get out of here. I don't feel so good.'

Dean drove the Impala down main street slower than normal. He kept thinking about the boy crying. His blood boiled thinking about his parents turning him into a killer at such a young age. He rolled down the window desperate for fresh air. Sam sat silent in the passenger seat worrying about his brother. When the car finally reached the motel, Dean pulled up in front of their room. He thought about how good it would feel to kill the other Vampires for what they did. He was angry and worked up. He thought about what he would do to the other Vampires. It was almost sunset and Dean was feeling anxious about the other Vampires eventual arrival. He pulled out the motel key, Sam was a few steps behind him. His mind began drifting away thinking about the Vampire boy and his sharp teeth. He opened the door and walked inside the dark motel room. As soon as he was inside, the door slammed behind him. Dean's heart jumped, his eyes opened wide and he felt a surge of adrenaline flood his body. There was someone else in the room. His immediate thought was it was the Vampires. He smiled to himself ready to fight. He reached behind him and pulled out the knife. He felt the cold end of a gun press firmly into the back of his head. His mind raced quickly, it wasn't a Vampire. Vampires don't use guns. His hand gripped the handle of the knife tightly.  
'Alright.' Dean grumbled realizing he was in trouble. 'Who ever that is I'm going to give you the opportunity to get out of here now before something terrible happens to you.'  
'Drop the knife. Now.' A voice commanded him. It sounded familiar to him but he couldn't quite place it. He wanted to turn around to see who it was. 'I said drop it!' The words echoed in Dean's head for a minute until he realized who it was.  
'Maddie?' Dean asked incredulously. 'What are you doing here?' He began turning his head around to get a look at her.  
'Don't turn your head.' She instructed him calmly. 'Don't make me tell you again, drop the knife.'  
'Alright, Alright.' He slowly put the knife to the ground. 'We don't have anything to steal if that's what's going on here.' He held his hands high up in the air and started to slowly turn around. It didn't make any sense that Maddie would be in his room. Surprisingly she let him turn around.  
'I'm not robbing you.' She replied with annoyance. Her eyes narrowed as she gave him a dirty look.  
'Then what are you doing here?' He stared into Maddie's different colored eyes. She looked angry, but he could also see that deep inside she was afraid. He thought if he could just talk her down he could figure out what was going on. 'The knife is down so, how about dropping the gun?' He asked her.  
'Not a chance.' She continued to aim the gun at his head.  
'Dean are you in there?' Sam's voice yelled through the door. Dean's heart jumped again. He had almost forgot Sam had been behind him on his way into the motel room.  
'He's just fine Sam!' Maddie yelled through the door at Sam before Dean could say anything. 'Just go away.'  
'What's going on in there?' Sam asked through the door.  
'Dean.' She turned to him. 'Tell your little brother to shut up and stop attracting attention to himself.' She whispered. 'Tell him, If he doesn't stop yelling, I'm going to shoot you in the face.' She tightened her grip on the gun.  
'Okay. God damn.' Dean gritted his teeth. 'Hey, Sammy everything is fine.' He yelled at him.  
'I don't believe you.' Sam said.  
'Sammy, give us a minute okay? Just sit in the car, I'll be there in a few.'  
'Sit in the car?' Sam yelled incredulously.  
'Do it Sammy!' Dean yelled. He tried to read Maddie's face, but it was stone cold. Her eyes were focused intensely on him. He waited to hear Sam's footsteps walk away from the door. His body relaxed a little bit. 'Okay, why don't we take it easy.' He suggested to her.  
'Nice try.' She shook her head at him. 'I'm the one with the gun, so you're going to listen to me.'  
'You know, I liked you a lot better last night.' He said.  
'I'm crushed.' She replied.  
'Alright, well if you're not here to rob us. Why are you here with a gun to my head?' Dean shook his head.  
'I have a few questions to ask you.'  
'Questions? What sort of questions?'  
'Shut up and listen.'  
'Yeah? What are you a cop?' He asked her.  
'Why do you ask that?' She furrowed her eyebrows.  
'For one thing you're very calm holding a gun to someone's head. Steady hand, stone cold demeanor. Makes me think you've done this before.' He stared back at her. She was still for a minute, he knew he had caught her. His mind began to race, why were the police after him now.  
'I'm not a cop.' She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  
'You're not?' Dean shook his head. 'I don't believe it.'  
'Well, not anymore.' She answered.  
'So you used to be a cop? Wonderful.' Dean replied sarcastically.


	8. Chapter 8

'Why do you care? Are you a criminal?' She asked him accusingly.  
'That's such a cop thing to ask.' He rolled his eyes.  
'Alright, do yourself a favor and keep your pretty mouth shut.' She commanded.  
'Yes officer.' He mocked her.  
'Are you stupid or something?' She leaned her face close to his. 'Do you think I wont shoot you? Cause I will.' She smiled angrily at him. Dean stared back at her, he didn't say anything sensing she was serious. 'For your information I wasn't just some street cop. I was a special agent for the FBI.'  
'Yup.' Dean nodded his head. 'Sammy was right.' He shook his head. 'So Agent, if your not FBI anymore what are you doing questioning me now?'  
'That is none of your damn business. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions and you're going to answer them.' She swallowed hard.  
'Alright, go ahead.' He shook his head annoyed at the situation.  
'First question, who are you?'  
'I told you. My name is Dean. Dean Winchester.'  
'Okay Dean Winchester, what are you doing in Portland. I know your not with the CDC. Nice try on that one by the way.'  
'How the hell were we suposto know you were some bitch ex FBI agent?' Dean tried to get under her skin.  
'Watch it Dean.' She bit her lip. 'Who are you working for?'  
'We're not working for anyone.' He shook his head. 'Who are you working for?'  
'Did you follow me here?' She asked him not addressing his question.  
'Why the hell would we do that?' Dean shook his head in confusion. 'We got here first remember?'  
'So, that doesn't mean anything.' She informed him.  
'Listen, I don't know where you're going with all of this but Sam and I didn't know you existed until you hit me in the head yesterday.' He raised his eyebrows at Maddie.  
'Why don't I believe you?'  
'Cause your a cop who doesn't trust anyone.' He shook his head.  
'Oh shut up.' She rolled her eyes.  
'Listen, Sam and I are working on a book. That's why we're in Portland. Were doing research. And for your information, it has nothing to do with you honey.' Dean smiled at her. 'So, do yourself a favor and don't flatter yourself.'  
'Alright, then if your just some brother writing team, why did you lie to me?'  
'It's just something we do.' He shrugged. 'You know how you put in blue contacts to avoid questions and hassle? We do the same with our job.'  
'People hassle you about writing books? What are you writing about that's so controversial then? And don't even think about lying to me or calling me honey again, or I'll crack your big dumb skull open.' She warned him.  
'Such hostility.' He shook his head. 'Ever think about talking to a professional about your anger issues?'  
'You really don't value your life do you?' She narrowed her eyes at him.  
'Just having a little fun.' He held his hand up. 'Alright, Sam and I travel around the country writing about supernatural beings. You see we're experts in the weird. We investigate strange phenomenon, and then we write about it.' He looked around the motel room, he could see the place was trashed. 'It's something we've been doing for a long time.'  
'You investigate supernatural beings?' She shook her head. 'You're fucking with me.' She accused him.  
'Trust me. I'm not.' He replied matter of factly. 'What the hell did you do to this place by the way?' He asked still looking around the room.  
'I'm looking for something.' She answered quickly.  
'What are you looking for?' He tried to distract her. His eyes were fixed on the gun, he had to figure out a way to get it away from her.  
'Like you don't know.'  
'I don't know!' Dean exclaimed. 'I told you, all I know about you is what you've already told me.'  
'Really? And you just happen to have a job where you investigate supernatural beings?' She narrowed her eyes at him.  
'Yeah. What does that have to do with you?' He shrugged his shoulders.  
'I'm looking for something specific in this room. If you don't know what I'm talking about then it isn't any of your concern.'  
'You know, if it's extra toilet paper you could have just asked.' He smiled at her.  
'You've got to be the dumbest son of a bitch I've ever met. You know that?' She shook her head at Dean.  
'Look, I don't know what's going on with you, or this mystery object your looking for. But Sam and I, we don't have it. We don't want it. Were not here to kidnap you or anything like that' He sighed.  
'But this room.' She continued to point the gun at Dean.  
'It's just the room the guy gave us.' He watched Maddie's face as she thought about what Dean had just said. 'You can have the room. We will gladly switch, like I said earlier this place is a dump.' Maddie's eyes moved quickly back and forth. Dean could see that she was distracted and knew he didn't have much time to react. He swiftly reached for the gun. He pulled it hard trying to pry it from her hands but it didn't move. 'Shit.' He replied with surprise.  
'I don't think so.' She pulled her arm back trying to loosen from his grip but he held on tight. She felt Dean pulling her body forward, she planted her feet firmly on the ground but couldn't hold much longer. Her body came toppling forward onto Dean. She gritted her teeth and used all of her strength to fight him off. They rolled around on the ground struggling for control of the gun. She couldn't let him get the gun. She could feel her fingers prying lose from the gun until the handle was out of her grip. 'Dammit.' She whispered.  
'Alright!' Dean pushed his body firmly on top of hers and pinned her to the ground. He held the gun close to her head. 'I don't want to shoot you. Really I don't.'  
'Let me go then.' She requested firmly. Dean watched the anger in her face become more and more intense.  
'Relax for a minute.' He suggested. 'I don't want to hurt you, but you need to tell me what the hell is going on.' He waited for her to speak but she just stared at him with squinted eyes.  
'I thought you were following me.' She said through gritted teeth.  
'Well you were wrong.' He shook his head. 'Trust me if I knew you were a FED I would have stayed far away from you.'  
'I told you, I'm not a FED anymore.' She exhaled.  
'You sure act like one.' He replied. He watched as she closed her eyes tightly. Dean could feel her body begin to relax underneath him. Her expression softened. She opened her eyes and looked to her left, she avoided eye contact with Dean.  
'So, are you really writing a book?' She turned back to look at him.  
'Of course not.' He smiled at her.  
'You lied to me?' She frowned. Her voice sounded genuinely hurt.  
'Sam is the one who does all the writing. I'm the investigator.' He smiled. Maddie's face relaxed more and almost smiled back at him.  
'So when you said that you investigate weird phenomenon were you being serious?'  
'Completely.'  
'What do you investigate then? Big foot or something?'  
'Something like that.' He loosened his grip a little more. 'Now, I want to let you up but I need to know you aren't going to attack me again.'  
'I'm not going to attack you. I'm just here because I need to find a note book. It belonged to my father.'  
'Go on.' He urged her.  
'About a year ago my Dad left a notebook in this room. It's very important I find it. His life is at stake.' Dean watched as her face turned solemn. 'I'm sorry about the gun. It's just that I knew you were lying about the CDC. I thought maybe you were following me.'  
'It's alright.' Dean didn't know why he was so quick to forgive her. He didn't want to fight with her.  
'After you guys left this morning, I broke in here to find the notebook because I thought you were trying to get it.'  
'What's in the notebook?' He asked her.  
'It's my fathers journal. He's committed to a psychiatric hospital right now.' She paused trying not to become overly emotional. 'You see, my father was a brilliant man, a Chemistry professor at MIT. He was also obsessed with some more non conventional subjects. Supernatural things.' She blinked hard.  
'Supernatural things?' Dean shook his head. He couldn't believe it.  
'That's why I thought you were lying to me. I thought you knew who my father was.'  
'I don't know who he is. What kind of supernatural things are we talking about?' Dean wanted to know how serious this was. He wondered if her father actually knew about the things Sam and Dean knew about.  
'I don't know.' She shook her head disappointingly. 'Ghosts, I guess. Monsters. He started getting really carried away with the whole thing. He eventually became paranoid and delusional. That led to him losing his job and being committed to the hospital.'  
'Tough break.' Dean shook his head.  
'My father told me there was proof in his notebooks that these creatures existed. He said he hid his journals and inside them were pictures and other kinds of proof. He said it would exonerate him, it would prove that he wasn't crazy. I didn't believe him at first, I just thought he was sick. But as time went on I became desperate for a solution, a way to get him out. So I started looking for these notebooks.'  
'Have you found any?' He asked her.  
'One. In a motel in Topeka. Most of the pages were ripped out. There were some crude sketches of strange beings and Latin poems. The last page of the book said Cedar Pines Motel Portland Oregon Room 237. So I headed here.'  
'Wow.' Dean felt badly for her. 'Listen, I'm going to let you up, but if you make any sudden moves that's it.'  
'Okay.' She agreed. She climbed to her feet. She watched Dean intently as he watched her. Dean took a few steps away from her.  
'By the looks of this room I assume you didn't find the note book?' He asked her.  
'No.' She bent over to stretch and clutched her right side. A sharp pain shot up the side of her body. She took a deep breath trying to deal with the pain. 'I think you broke a rib.' She rubbed her side.  
'It wasn't my intention.' He replied.  
'It's fine, it's not the first one I've broken.' She took a deep breath. 'I'll live.'  
'You know, we can help you.' Dean said lowering his gun completely. 'Sam and I we know about these kinds of things.'  
'I don't know.' She stared back at him skeptically.  
'I'm serious.' He answered firmly. 'I'm going to tell Sam to come in.' He informed her. 'He can help us find the notebook.'  
'I guess I've got nothing else to lose.' She shrugged her shoulders.  
'Sam!' Dean called his name through the door. Sam pushed the door open immediately with a look of great concern on his face. Dean stared back at his brother strangely. 'What were you standing on the other side of the door that whole time?' He asked him.  
'Maybe.' Sam kept his attention focused on Maddie.  
'I thought I told you to wait in the car.'  
'Did you really think I was going to do that?'  
'No, I guess not.' Dean put his gun back into the waist of his jeans. 'So you heard everything?'  
'Yup.' Sam nodded his head.  
'What do you think?' Dean asked him.  
'Well.' He stared at Maddie's hopefully sad face. 'I don't like you putting a gun to my brothers head.' He paused. 'But, I guess we can help you.'


	9. Chapter 9

'You really should eat something.' Dean suggested to Maddie as he plopped down on his motel bed. She looked up at the phone in Dean's hand. The last thing she wanted to do was eat. She was exhausted and just wanted the day to be over.  
'I'll just have whatever your having.' She motioned to Dean.  
'Alright.' Dean cleared his throat before he spoke into the receiver. 'Yes, delivery. Two Double cheese burgers with extra bacon. Side of fries.' Dean happily ordered.  
'Actually Dean.' She sat up on the bed. 'Why don't you make mine a single.'  
'Extra bacon?' He asked her.  
'Yeah, why not.' She shrugged her shoulders.  
'That's what I'm talking about.' Dean laughed slamming his beer bottle on the night stand with a little too much enthusiasm. Beer foamed out of the top of the bottle and began spilling everywhere.  
'Wow.' Maddie smiled at Dean. 'It wasn't that exciting.'  
'Bacon? Of course it is.' He laughed. 'Hey.' Dean called to Sam in the other room. 'I'm ordering food. What do you want Sammy?'  
'Chicken Sandwich.' Sam yelled back from the bathroom.  
'One Chicken sandwich as well.' He repeated into the phone. 'Okay. Yeah, just give us three soda's. Thanks a lot.' He hung up the phone. 'Twenty five minutes they said.' Dean looked over at Maddie. She was sitting on Sam's bed quietly, she sipped a glass of whiskey. They had spent the last few hours along with Sam looking for her fathers notebook. They had come up empty handed. Dean didn't like the depressed look on her face. 'Are you okay?' He asked Maddie.  
'I'll be fine.' She forced a smile out. 'I'm just disappointed.'  
'That's understandable.'  
'It's my own fault. I guess I thought that if I could find the notebook it would fix everything.' She shrugged her shoulders and drank more out of her glass. 'Believe it or not, I think I'm kind of drunk.' She laughed.  
'Oh, now your drunk?' Dean asked her incredulously. 'Cause the other night you drank glass after glass and I could barely tell.' He shook his head back and forth.  
'Yeah well, I was trying to beat you.' She admitted.  
'I know you were.' Dean shook his head at her.  
'But I've got no competition now. Just an empty stomach and a head full of disappointment.'  
'Cut it out. Don't be so hard on yourself. Just because we didn't find the notebook tonight doesn't mean it's not here.' Dean tried to encourage her. 'We can continue to look tomorrow.'  
'I appreciate your help Dean, but I think it's a lost cause.' She rolled over onto her side facing the window. It had started to snow. She watched the snow fall through the broken shades. 'What a disaster.' Maddie sighed. 'Two days before Christmas. I'm laying in a strangers motel room, half drunk and I'm not even getting laid.' She let out a long sigh and turned back around. She grabbed the glass on the night stand and drained it of it's contents. Dean didn't know what to say. He looked at her defeated face. She looked beautiful sad. There was a long strand of dark hair that hung in front of her blue eye. He couldn't stop staring at it. She tried several times to blow the hair out of her eye before she gave up. 'What am I going to do now?' She asked out loud. 'I've got nothing to go back to. No job, no apartment. Nothing.'  
'What happened with the FBI, if you don't mind me asking.' Dean asked Maddie.  
'They said my fathers mental illness made me a liability. That they couldn't risk having me out in the field.'  
'That's messed up.' Dean felt angry for her. 'It's your father, it's not you. They can't do that.'  
'It's the FBI they can do whatever they want. The sad part is, that job was my entire life.' She cleared her throat. She focused her gaze across the room, her eye was drawn to a picture hanging on the wall. It was a stock photo of a little child in a field with a single balloon. She stared at it hoping it would distract her from the emotions inside of her. She didn't know why she was opening up to Dean about her life, but she continued to speak.  
'Did you always want to be in the FBI.' Dean asked her.  
'Yup. After college I went straight to the academy. It had been my dream since I was a little girl. I was top of my class in school. I didn't fuck around, I didn't party I just worked. In a few years it was time to graduate, so I got a job immediately. Once I was in the field all I cared about were my cases. Nothing else mattered, I had little time for family, friends, or boyfriends I just wanted to work.' She shook her head. 'When they fired me everything changed. I thought I would die in the commissioners office right there. He told me it wasn't personal, and that he wished it could be another way but that was the end. I was sick for a month after that day, I couldn't eat, I couldn't get out of bed. I just didn't know what to do.' She stopped speaking. Her confession sounded stupid now that she said it out loud.  
'I know what that's like.' Dean shook his head. 'Loss can be devastating.' He thought about everything he had lost in his life. He thought about his home, his family and his childhood.  
'Yes, but that's true for real loss.' She replied. 'It was only a job, but I made it my whole world. Pretty pathetic.' She shook her head.  
'It was your passion though. That's not a insignificant loss. I know what it's like to let your job take over everything. Trust me.' Dean could relate to her intense focus on work that had left little time for a social life. This was Dean's story as well. Sure he had flings here and there with girls, but never anything too serious. Anytime it seemed like he had met someone, his job got in the way.  
'You know what, it's probably better in the long run.' She said trying to lighten the mood. 'I probably would have died of stomach cancer after a few more years in the FBI.' She tried to smile. 'You know what the real surprising thing I got out of the FBI was though?'  
'What?'  
'It brought me closer to my father. He was so proud of me. Even after he entered the hospital and I lost the job, he was always upbeat about things.'  
'You guys weren't close growing up?' Dean asked her.  
'No. My father was a hard man to love. He was obsessed with his work and didn't have much time for me growing up.'  
'What about your Mom?'  
'I don't know where she is.' Maddie shrugged her shoulders. 'She left when I was a little. And because my father was so focused on work I had a lot of babysitters growing up.'  
'That's better than me.' Dean replied. 'I was the babysitter. At six years old.'  
'You were taking care of Sam when you were six?' She asked incredulously. 'That must have been rough.'  
'It wasn't the easiest way to grow up.' Dean admitted.  
'So your Dad a workaholic as well?' She put her glass down on the nightstand studying Dean's expression. She wanted to go sit next to him, to be close to him. She had spent her whole life feeling alone, but with Dean she didn't feel that way. She had the feeling that he understood a lot of what she went through. His eyes burned into hers as if they were almost inviting her closer. She pushed the thought out of her mind. Being vulnerable like that was too scary for her.  
'Saying my Dad was workaholic is putting it lightly.' Dean took a large sip of his beer. 'He had a similar job to Sammy and me. That meant we traveled our entire lives. I was the one who had to watch Sam while Dad worked. Sometimes for days at a time.' He felt his jaw tense, an unconscious reaction to the bitterness he felt.  
'I hated my Dad for many years for basically abandoning me.' Maddie said. 'In the end, I turned into him anyway.' There was a long pause and the room was silent. Both Maddie and Dean were caught in their own heads thinking about their childhoods. 'I forgave him though. I really thought that after years of struggle maybe we could be normal for once.' She swallowed hard as the word normal reverberated in her ears.  
'Normal?' Dean asked her.  
'Yeah, I guess that doesn't exist, does it?' She laughed nervously.  
'No.' Dean shook his head. 'Or at least, I've never seen it.' He smiled at Maddie who smiled back. They both felt a sense of relief opening up to each other.  
'Listen, Dean you were sweet to indulge me on this whole thing. Especially after I held a gun to your head.'  
'Oh please. Do you know how many times I've had a gun held to my head?' He scoffed. 'Just another Wednesday.'  
'You don't say?' She began laughing. She felt a great deal of gratitude towards Dean. She couldn't believe how nice he was to help her. 'Either way, I should go.'


	10. Chapter 10

Where are you going to go?' He asked surprised.  
'Home.'  
'You're going to drive all the way back to Boston tonight?'  
'No.' She shook her head. 'I am not ready to go back there yet. To be honest, I don't know if I'll ever be ready. I was just going to go sleep in my motel room. Or at least stare at the ceiling in my motel room.'  
'But what about dinner?' He asked. 'It'll be here soon.'  
'I'm not actually hungry.' She shook her head. 'I just ordered to shut you up.'  
'Come on. You have to eat.' He didn't want to let her go, not just yet. 'I always feel better after I eat. Trust me, you will too.' He flashed her a silly toothy grin.  
'Have you ever looked into food addiction?' Maddie smiled at Dean. 'Cause, I've never seen someone so obsessed with food. It's a miracle your in such good shape. You should be like 500 lbs with the way you shovel food into that pretty face of yours.' She flirted with him.  
'Yeah? Well if I'm not mistaken the only time I ever see you smile is when I'm shoveling food into my pretty face.' He reminded her. 'So who's the sick one now?'  
'I really should have shot you when I had the chance.' She shook her head smiling.  
'And why didn't you again?' Dean asked getting up from his seat. He walked to the side of the bed that Maddie was sitting on. 'Oh, that's right, I took that gun from you.' He stood above her with his legs pressed against hers.  
'Asshole.' She stared back up at him with a mischievous smile on her face. The tension between the two of them was electrifying. 'Okay. I'll stay for dinner, but then I should go.'  
'Good.' Dean replied his legs still pressed against hers. He continued to look at her with amazement. As much as he tried he couldn't get over how beautiful she was to him.  
'Are you just going to stand there?' She asked him.  
'Maybe. This is my room you know.'  
'I'm aware.' She patted a spot on the mattress to her left. 'Why don't you sit down then instead of staring at me like a creep.'  
'I'm not a creep.'  
'Just sit down.' She smiled.  
'Is that an order?' He asked her.  
'Sit the fuck down.' She played along with him.  
'Yes Ma'am.' Dean plunked down beside her. He sat still waiting for her to say something.  
'So, have been on the road for a long time?'  
'Yup.' Dean pointed to Maddie's bottle of whiskey. 'You wana give me some of that?'  
'Sure.' She handed him the bottle. He took a long sip of the whiskey. It burned as it traveled down his throat.  
'Does it ever get better? The loneliness I mean?' She asked him taking the bottle back. She took a sip. The opening of the bottle was wet and warm from Dean's mouth. She smiled as she sipped it.  
'It's tough, I'll tell you that much.' Dean replied. 'Even with my brother along for the ride, I still feel isolated sometimes.'  
'What about right now?' She asked him. 'Do you feel lonely now?'  
'Now? No.' He smiled taking the bottle back from her. 'Right now I feel good.' He put the bottle up to his lips.  
'Yeah. I actually do to.' She laughed. She stretched her arms up in the air and let her body fall back on the mattress. She closed her eyes thinking about Dean. She took a deep breath realizing she was actually enjoying herself for the first time in a long time. She thought about her father's notebook and how even if she did find it, it wouldn't make a difference in the long run. She had to start living for herself, doing what she wanted. She never relaxed and just enjoyed herself. Maybe this was the break she had been looking for all along. Her mind drifted in all different directions as she laid still on the mattress. She could feel Dean staring down at her.  
'Hey.' Dean spoke. 'Did you fall asleep down there?' He started shaking her by the shoulder. He saw a wide smile spread across her face. 'Are you dead?' He continued. She didn't say anything in response she just kept smiling with her eyes closed. 'You better answer me. If you don't I'll assume you died of alcohol poisoning.'  
'It takes a lot more than that to poison me.' She laughed.  
'Alright well, you better getup then.'  
'Why should I?'  
'Because I said so.'  
'Are we playing this game again?' She chuckled. 'Because I said so isn't good enough for me.' She shook her head.  
'Seriously. Get up or...'  
'Or what?' She baited him.  
'Or this.' Dean bent down and softly kissed her on the lips. Her eyes immediately opened in surprise. She couldn't believe it. Her lips widened in a smile and she started to laugh. Dean opened his eyes to look at her. She pressed her lips together and kissed him back. She felt her heart floating in the air as Dean's warm lips enveloped hers. She felt carefree. Dean continued to press his lips firmly into hers. She closed her eyes tightly, letting go of all the bad feeling and worry. His lips tasted like sweet whiskey which made her feel even more at ease. She ran her fingers through Dean's short dirty blond hair. It was a feeling she could get used to. Dean shifted his body closer to hers so that he was pressing into her. His hands slipped their way under her shirt as he gripped the skin above her hip bones tightly. She closed her eyes tighter wanting to escape the world forever. Dean's hands began unbuttoning the black cardigan she wore over her shirt. She opened her eyes to see what he was doing, she swatted his hands away.  
'Slow down there.' She said pulling away from his face. 'Your brother is in the next room.' She reminded him.  
'Don't talk about my brother right. now.' Dean replied quickly. He kissed her again. His hands continued to pull at her clothing. Maddie started laughing at him. She grabbed Dean firmly around the wrists and squeezed him. He stopped kissing her and looked at her face. She opened her eyes slowly.  
'Seriously.' She smiled. 'Sam could walk in any second.'  
'Ugh.' Dean rolled his eyes. 'Sometimes I wish I had been an only child.'  
'You don't mean that.' She smiled calling his bluff.  
'No.' Dean stared into her eyes. 'You really are beautiful. You know that?' He asked her. 'Even when your angry. Actually, that whole time you were ordering me around earlier. Teeth gritted. Super angry. It was hot.'  
'There's something wrong with you Dean Winchester.' She shook her head at him.  
'I know that.' He raised his eyebrows. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the top of Dean's hair was covered in a white power.  
'Dean, there's something in your hair.' She looked up to the ceiling. More white powder was falling. It slowly drifted from the ceiling and onto Dean's hair. Dean sat up and reached his hand to the top of his head.  
'Shit.' He rubbed the power between his fingers. 'Looks like the sky is falling.' He looked up as more white powder landed in his eye. 'Is plaster a carcinogen?' He asked rubbing his eye.  
'Probably.' She replied.  
'Wonderful.' He continued to stare at the origin of the powder. 'It's coming from the drop ceiling. Get up for a minute.' He instructed Maddie. She sat up and took a few steps from the bed. Dean climbed on top of the bed and pushed out the tile of the drop ceiling. Dust began falling rapidly from the tile. Dean coughed violently waving the dust away from his face. Maddie covered her mouth as the dust continued to fall.  
'What's going on in here?' Sam entered from the bathroom after hearing Dean coughing.  
'There's something up here.' Dean said feeling above the tiles. He looked back at his brother. 'Wait, you were in the bathroom that whole time?' Dean furrowed his eyebrows at Sam. 'And you complain about my diet?'  
'For your information I was reading.' Sam sighed.  
'Whatever. Throw me a flashlight would you?' Dean asked him.  
'Sure.' Sam threw a small flashlight to Dean. He shined the light inside the ceiling. There was something hidden above the ceiling. Dean's pulse began to race.  
'Holy shit.' He laughed. He looked back down to Maddie who was watching him intently. 'I think I've found it.'  
'No way.' She shook her head unable to believe it. Her eyes opened wide. 'Let me see.' She began fidgeting waiting to see what Dean brought down from the ceiling. He pulled a large thick note book out from the ceiling and brushed the thick coat of dust off the top of it. Maddie reached her hand up towards Dean and the book. 'Is that it?' She asked him.  
'It's got to be right?' He opened the front cover to see a name scrawled in the bottom right hand corner. 'Dr. Robert Cunningham.' He read the name out loud.  
'Oh My God.' Maddie replied. 'That's my father.' Dean climbed off the bed and onto the floor. He held the book out for Maddie to see the name. 'I don't believe it.' She stared at the book with shock.  
'Well believe it.' Dean smiled. He flipped through a few of the pages. His eyes narrowed as he read the words on the page. There were descriptions of many creatures that Dean was familiar with. He looked at Maddie's face, she looked on with Dean. She was shaking her head.  
'What is all this?' She sighed. 'More crazy ranting?'  
'No.' Dean replied calmly. 'This is the real deal.' He let the words out without thinking of the consequence of telling the truth.  
'What?' Both Maddie and Sam replied at the same time.  
'Sam.' Dean ushered him to look at the book. 'Take a look at this.' Sam walked over and took the book out of Dean's hand. Sam began looking through the book.  
'Demons, Shape shifters, Skin walkers, Hell hounds.' Sam was nodding his head at each new page. The book was immaculately organized. On each page there was a heading with the creatures name. Then a brief description and a picture. There were notes on the creatures habits and where he encountered them. 'Shit, Dean. This is pretty incredible.'  
'I know it.' Dean took a deep breath. Both Sam and Dean looked over at Maddie. She was confused. They had to make a decision weather to tell her the truth or not. Sam looked down at his brothers face.  
'Go ahead.' Sam said to Dean.  
'Okay.' Dean nodded his head. He turned back to Maddie. 'This book, it's the real thing.'  
'What does that mean?' Maddie asked him. 'How could it be real? It's a book of monsters.'  
'Right.' Dean agreed.  
'Are you saying that monsters are real?' She stared at the brothers incredulously. 'In case your trying to make a joke let me tell you now it's not funny.' She felt her heart sink. A slight sting of anger began rising up inside of her.


	11. Chapter 11

'We aren't joking.' Sam interjected.  
'No. That's not possible.' She began shaking her head.  
'I know this sounds unbelievable trust me. But listen to me for a minute.' Dean wasn't sure exactly how he was going to explain this to her. What he and Sam did was something they generally kept a secret so he didn't have much practice explaining this to others. Dean reached out to touch her shoulder. 'Why don't you sit down for a minute.'  
'No.' She pulled away from him suddenly scared. She felt like she was inside of some kind of strange dream. 'This doesn't make sense.'  
'I know this may seem shocking to you.' Sam tried to reason with Maddie. 'But there is nothing to be afraid of.' She held her hands up to the brothers for them to keep their distance. She needed a minute to clear her head. Her heart was beating rapidly and she needed to calm down for a minute. A knock on the door made her jump. She stared suspiciously at the door. She turned back around to look at Sam and Dean.  
'Well, they're here.' Dean motioned to the door casually.  
'Who's here?' Maddie asked with alarm.  
'The food we ordered. Remember?'  
'Oh, right.' Maddie walked to the door. She hesitated for a minute. Something inside of her said not to open the door. She looked back at Sam and Dean again. They saw the hesitation in her eyes. She reached out to the door and pulled it open anyway.  
'Oh, hello.' A woman on the other side of the door smirked at Maddie. Her skin was a sickening shade of pale and her eyes looked cold and dead. Maddie held her breath in her chest as she looked at the woman with terror. 'I wasn't expecting a woman.'  
'Excuse me?' Maddie stared back at her.  
'No, I distinctly remember the smell of two men.' The Vampire sniffed at the air. She looked behind Maddie to see Sam and Dean. 'There they are.' She smiled with satisfaction. Maddie saw multiple rows of sharp teeth in her mouth. 'Those are the ones who killed my son.'  
'What's going on!?' Maddie reeled backwards in horror. She covered her mouth unable to stop staring at the Vampires teeth. 'What is going on here?' She repeated.  
'Oh shit!' Sam groaned out realizing the woman at the door was one of the Vampires from the woods. He had completely forgot about them. Before he could react another male Vampire pushed past them. He lunged at Sam.  
'Sammy!' Dean yelled out to give his brother a head's up.  
'I've got it!' Sam replied. With swift precision he pulled out a syringe in his pocket and stuck the Vampire with it. Dean grabbed a knife he had hidden under the pillow and jumped across the bed towards the lady Vampire.  
'Not so fast!' The lady warned Dean grabbing Maddie by the throat. 'Someone has to pay for what you did to my baby!'  
'Oh yeah?' Sam shouted to her. 'How about this for payment?' He said as he thrust another syringe into the Male Vampire. The Vampire convulsed as the Dead Man's blood coursed through out his body. Sam reached into his back pocket and without thinking took a knife and cut the Vampire's head clean off.  
'Nooo!' The woman Vampire yelled out. She squeezed harder around Maddie's neck. She pulled her closer to her. 'One more move and I kill her!' She warned Sam and Dean. They both stared back at the Vampire not making a move.  
'Wait!' Dean said holding up his hands. The Vampire sunk her long fingernails into Maddie's skin causing her to wince.  
'Fuck this. I don't' care what you are!' Maddie growled feeling the rage begin to build inside of her. Maddie jammed the back of her heel into the knee of the Vampire causing her to lose her balance and fall back. The Vampire's hands loosened from Maddie's neck. Maddie turned around and punched her square in the face. Her fist connecting with a deafening force. She watched as the Vampire bounced back quicker than Maddie was expecting. Maddie took a deep breath realizing she was going to be in a for a good fight. The Vampire reeled her head backwards and head butted Maddie forcefully. Maddie felt the bottom fall out of her stomach as the pain radiated towards the back of her head. She had and overwhelming feeling she was about to be sick but she choked it back. Her eyes opened widely as she saw flashes of white twinkle in and out of her vision. She had never been hit hard enough to see stars before. She stumbled back a few feet. The room was spinning and she felt incredibly dizzy. She took a deep breath knowing she had to keep it together. This wasn't a street criminal she was fighting, this was the undead. The Vampire got closer to her and hit her again hard in the face. Maddie fell backwards onto the ground. She took a quick breath and tried to get her head straight once more. She reached for the Vampires ankles and pulled hard, causing the Vampire to fall onto the ground. This gave Maddie a few seconds to get up from the ground and take a step away from her.  
'You're a tough little bitch aren't you.' The Vampire laughed as she scrambled to her feet. She turned to Maddie and barred the rows of sharp teeth in her mouth at her. Maddie felt her blood run cold by the sight of her. 'Maybe I'll make you into a Vampire instead of killing you.' She laughed. 'What do you think?' Maddie continued to stare at the woman. She had never seen anything so frightening in all her years in the FBI. She watched in horror as the Vampire moved closer to her. She thought, this was going to be it.  
'Maddie duck down!' Dean yelled to her. Maddie dropped quickly to her knees. She watched as Dean swung a large bowie knife in the air. It connected directly to the Vampire's neck severing her head from her body. Hot red blood sprayed all over Maddie drenching her from head to toe. She covered her mouth quickly afraid of ingesting the blood. The feeling was disgusting. She stared at the dead Vampire body as it slumped to the ground next to her.  
'Are you okay?' Sam asked Maddie as he held out a hand to her. Maddie stared back at Sam, he was also covered in blood but not as much as she was. She didn't know what to do. She looked over at Dean who was staring at her. She didn't know what to say. She reached her hand out and gripped onto Sam's large hand. He used his strength to pull her to a standing position. She surveyed the room with her eyes still gripping Sam's hand. Two dead Vampire bodies, two brothers covered in blood.  
'Maddie?' Dean asked her. 'Are you alright?'  
'Yeah.' She took a deep breath and let go of Sam's hand. 'I'm not dreaming right? Those were Vampires, weren't they?'  
'I'm afraid so.' Dean replied.  
'Holy shit.' She smiled. 'I just fought a fucking Vampire. That was crazy.' She was still reeling from the rush of adrenaline. She had never experienced anything like that before.  
'So you're okay?' Sam asked her.  
'I'm definitely okay.' She nodded her head enthusiastically. 'I'm a mess.' She looked down at her clothing. 'But I'm okay. I can't believe it.' She took a few steps away from Sam and Dean. 'So, all this.' She pointed to the carnage. 'This is what you two really do isn't it? You're not writers.'  
'No, were not.' Sam replied.  
'Damn.' Maddie shook her head. 'So, my dad as right.' Maddie laughed.  
'Yeah. I don't know how he knew about all this stuff, but he was right.' Dean replied.  
'So is this some kind of secret society thing?' Maddie asked. 'Only certain people know there are supernatural creatures roaming the earth.'  
'Hunters. Were called Hunters.' Dean clarified. 'And sure there are others out there who know to an extent but not as much as we do.'  
'Except my father.'  
'I guess so.' Dean shrugged his shoulders.  
'Nobody in their right mind would believe this.' Maddie continued thinking out loud. 'Even with the journals and all this. I can't go around telling people Vampires exist. I'll be locked up too.'  
'That's the thing.' Dean nodded his head.  
'Damn.' Maddie plopped down on one of the mattresses. 'It figures.' She shook her head. Dean walked over to the mattress and sat down next to her.  
'Hey, I know this isn't the outcome you wanted.' Dean sat down next to Maddie. He took a bandanna out of his pocket and wiped Vampire blood from her face. She laughed at him.  
'It's fine.' She nodded her head. 'Believe it or not I feel better. Even if I can't get him released from the hospital. It was a long shot anyway. I feel better just knowing he wasn't totally crazy.' She shrugged her shoulders. 'Is that weird?'  
'No, that's good.' He assured her.  
'Dean, we've got to get these bodies out of here.' Sam pointed to the two Vampire corpses.  
'Yeah, I know.' Dean nodded. There was knock on the door again. 'Shit, were there more than two?' Dean's pulse raced. He thought back to the cabin, had he counted the number of beds wrong. Everyone froze as they looked at the door. Sam took a few steps towards the door and put his eye to the peep hole.  
'Shit.' He lowered his head.  
'What is it? Another one?' Dean stood up quickly.  
'The food is here.'


End file.
